1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to beds, bed clothing and a means for aiding a care giver in relocating or laterally transferring a supine patient between adjoining horizontal surfaces. More specifically, the invention is directed to a package of bed clothing that aids a care giver in making consecutive, lateral transfers of a patient between adjoining horizontal surfaces (e.g., from a stretcher to an operating table and then back to the stretcher).
2. Description of the Related Art
In the day-to-day operation of a hospital, many patients are moved. In many instances, patients are ambulatory and can move from a hospital bed to a wheelchair in order to be moved from one area of the hospital to another. However, many patients are not ambulatory. These patients must also be moved with the assistance of a hospital's care givers, i.e., nursing and medical staff. Non-ambulatory patients are often moved from a hospital bed to a gurney that is placed next to the bed and the gurney's height preferably adjusted so that its top, horizontal surface is at the same level as that of the bed (i.e., a lateral transfer). Once the patient arrives on the gurney at the new area, the patient will often need to be moved from the gurney to a different, adjoining horizontal surface.
When a patient undergoes surgery, (particularly elective surgery), the process begins by asking the patient to lie on a gurney in a pre-operative holding area where the patient discusses his/her procedure with his/her surgical team, signs consents, and is generally prepared for surgery. Almost always, before being wheeled into the operating room, the patient is given a sedative, which causes them to be less coordinated, and less able to move well; which is especially relevant in the more debilitated population such as the elderly, the obese, and the injured. It is in this “less physically able” and medicated state that the patient is then asked to move him/her self over to the operating room table once the gurney is locked in place beside it. This seemingly minor request is, in fact, often a gargantuan task for many patients and can be embarrassing, and painful, and uses precious and expensive Operating Room minutes to perform. Frequently the patient is unable to comply, and Operating Room personnel must step in and employ the use of a transfer device, such as a slider board, that entails log rolling the patient in order to place the device under the patient in order to move the patient to the operating room table. These transfer devices, which must be purchased, maintained, and stored when not in use, are sometimes in short supply and can be difficult to locate when needed.
Once the surgery is over, the patient remains under the effect of anesthesia for some time, and Operating Room personnel must then transfer the patient back to the gurney (if out-patient), or hospital bed (if in-patient) that is brought alongside the operating room table. This second transfer is completed as the first; by log-rolling the patient, and using a transfer device.
As a result of all of these lateral transfers, the nursing and medical staff are often needed to help lift and reposition a patent from one horizontal surface to another. There is often some awkwardness involved in these lateral transfers as the care givers are not always able to position their feet under themselves (e.g., they have to stand on the side of the gurney opposite the adjoining bed and stretch forward to help laterally move the patient towards them) in an optimum manner so as to enable them to minimize the stresses that are placed on their backs, etc.
Many prior art devices have been used to assist caregivers in making these lateral transfers. The lateral transfer itself often consists of a patient rolling or being rolled by the care givers from a supine position to a lateral decubitus position (a so called “log roll”), at which time some type of sheet- or board-like device is often placed between the patient and the surface of the bed or gurney, or other surface on which the patient is lying. The patient then rolls or is rolled from this lateral decubitus position back to a supine position onto the device.
At this point, the patient is often only partially on the device. The medical or nursing staff may have to push and/or pull the patient across the device to effect a transfer across the adjoining surfaces. Once on the gurney or a similar transportation device, another log roll may be necessary to remove the device from underneath the patient.
The current devices being used for these lateral transfers are not optimum. These transfers can be stressful and quite uncomfortable for the patient. Evidence for this is being that patients often make remarks such as “I have to move over there now?,” “I'm sorry, I can't move for you, I'm embarrassed, but you will have to move me.” Additionally, procedural areas are the revenue generating centers of any hospital; avoiding the waste of time in these areas is critical to the mission of the hospital.
Another potential problem is related to the hospital staff or care givers. In moving the patient, the staff must often bend over various surfaces and push and/or pull the patient. Such physical exertions can be dangerous and result in staff injuries and resulting workman's compensation claims. Also, for patients of significant size and/or weight, additional hospital staff may be required for the physical task of moving the patient from one surface to another with the existing transportation devices. These injury and labor force issues can add substantially to the cost of operating a hospital.
There is a need for improved devices and methods to assist care givers in facilitating these patient lateral transfers, and to improve the experience of the patients undergoing these lateral transfers.